The Health Assessment Unit makes up part of the
Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology (OHAE),
along with the Epidemiology Unit, the Data Collection
and Analysis Unit, the Policy Analysis Unit and the Institutional Review Board,
in the Department of Public Health. OHAE is overseen by
the Chief Science Officer.

The Health Assessment
Unit oversees the development of the
Los Angeles County Health Survey (LACHS), a
population-based telephone survey which collects data on
health conditions, health behaviors, and health care
access and utilization of services from a representative
sample of Los Angeles County residents. The unit also
provides data support, along with the other units of
OHAE, for Area Health Officers and their respective
staffs for the purpose of improving community health.

The
Los Angeles County Health Survey is a population
based telephone survey that provides information
concerning the health of Los Angeles County residents.
The data are used for assessing health-related needs of
the population, for program planning and policy
development, and for program evaluation. The relatively
large sample size allows users to obtain health
indicator data for large demographic subgroups and
across geographic regions of the County, including
Service Planning Areas and Health Districts.

Health indicators represent one available tool for
monitoring the overall health of the population, and for
communicating with the public about key opportunities
for health improvement. A broad array of health and
health-related indicators are presented including:
health conditions and health behaviors, as well as
factors in the social and physical environments that
strongly influence health and contribute to disparities
in health outcomes. The data in these reports were
designed to be shared with concerned community groups,
such as health care providers, schools, neighborhoods,
and non-profit and business associations, to help us
work together toward achieving better health for all.